Hurt
by dellaslovinlife
Summary: Set in season 11, 6 month's after Morgan's exit. Derek Morgan is hurt, in more ways than one. Penelope Garcia tries to help him pick up the pieces. But some wounds take longer to heal...
1. Chapter 1

Hurt...

Chapter 1

 **Hello M/G lovers! I know we have all taken a blow with the events of the show. But let's keep the fandom for this pairing alive. May the Morgan/Garcia ship forever reign!**

* * *

Penelope Garcia sighed with a heavy heart as she passed her best friends' former office. It was the end of the work week and the team had actually been able to stay at the BAU for a few days, finishing paperwork and other case related items. Penelope let her mind wander briefly to the times when she would stop by her Hot Stuff's office, offering up a DVD, bowl of popcorn, and of course her high heels latched on to one of her fingers. It was that sight that used to make Derek Morgan smile, close up his files, and toss his pencil out of his hands on his way out the door to hang out with his Baby Girl.

Key word: _used_ to.

Penelope leaned up against the threshold and looked in at the empty desk, with no pictures of his mother, sisters, or herself scattered about. No unfinished files waiting for his near-perfect script. No hot chocolaty goodness parked in his office chair, smiling up at her with all of his god like charm. No warmth, no safety. No. Nothing.

"Stop it, Penelope!" she scolded herself quietly as she reached up to wipe away a tear. It had been 6 months since Derek Morgan had left the BAU. Some days it felt like longer than others. Then some days Penelope would pinch herself, trying to see if she would wake up from this weird twilight zone of a dream. But, the only thing a pinch would do is leave a red mark on her ivory skin.

Sure, Penelope knew the reasons why Derek left. After having been tortured himself, and then having your wife and child almost die from a gunshot wound, who wouldn't want to get as far away from the one thing that seemed to bring your life the most hell? But then again, Penelope also couldn't help but wonder why anyone would want to leave the one thing that also helped bring him satisfying joy. Catching the bad guys. The team. And then, well, her.

Sometimes life sucks like that.

Finally pulling herself away from the threshold, Penelope turned in the direction of the bull pen to see who from the team was still left. On the way, Penelope thought about the _other_ reason Derek had left. His son. She couldn't lie, she thought the world of little Hank Morgan. She was the godmother, after all. Although she had a sneaking feeling that Savannah had only let her hold that title for Derek's sake. Which was weird since Penelope didn't think they had any qualms. Savannah had looked out for her when she had a little too much to drink the night she was finally released from witness protection. Of course, Penelope _did_ go on a little bit of an affectionate spree that night, telling everyone she loved them, including Derek. _Probably not one of my finer moments_ Penelope thought as she entered the glass doors of the bull pen, to see Reid and JJ packing up their things to go home.

"Hello my lovelies!" said Penelope as she went to perch on the end of Reid's desk.

"Hey, Garcia." Reid said quietly. It seemed like ever since Derek left, Reid had become a lot quieter.

"Hi, Pen." JJ smiled as she put her bag on her shoulder. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean, Jayje?" Penelope asked, confused.

"I mean, you look like you were thinking about something _extra_ hard before you came in here."

"She's right, Garcia." Reid chimed in.

"How do you figure that, my inquisitive ones?"

"For starters, your eyes, PG." JJ started. "They're a dead giveaway."

Penelope frowned. "A give away for what?"

"We can tell you've been crying," Reid said simply. "Science show that when tears are—"

"Damn profilers," Penelope muttered.

" _Thank_ you, Spence. I think she gets it," JJ said as she pat Reid's shoulder, who shrugged. "So, what's got you down?"

"Don't make me say it, JJ," Penelope pleaded, as she adjusted her glasses. After receiving a pointed look from the two before her, she continued. "Okay, I miss Morgan. Happy now?" she said as she threw her hands up.

"Have you tried talking to him?" Reid asked, eyeing her.

"What?"

"Have you tried talking to him? Texting him? I'm sure he misses you, too," Reid said simply.

"Yeah, I mean it's been what, 6 months?" JJ started. "I mean surely you've tried to talk to him since he left?"

"Humph!" Penelope scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "Talking is a two way street, JJ. My phone hasn't exactly been blowing up with texts from Sir Hot Stuff."

"Maybe," JJ started and looked at Reid who nodded. "Have you thought that he is just trying to give everyone time to adjust?"

"I don't think I'll ever adjust to him not being here," Penelope said quietly. "I know the reasons why he did it was because of that little baby boy, but still…" she trailed off. "I'm still having a hard time with him not being here. And you guys can't tell me you aren't either."

"No, it hasn't been easy," Reid spoke up. "But that doesn't mean Derek isn't still our friend. Sometimes friends need a _call_ in order to get them back on track," he said he motioned to the cell phone Penelope was holding. She looked at her phone and then back at the two before her.

"This wouldn't be some kind of Garcia intervention technique, would it?"

Both Reid and JJ looked at each other, then back at Penelope and shrugged.

"Fine!" Penelope exclaimed, feeling the pressure. "I'll extend the first olive branch, satisfied?" Reid and JJ shared another look and nodded. "Thanks. You two have been _so_ helpful," Penelope said as she got up and turned to leave the pair in the bull pen.

"Do you think this will work?" asked Reid.

"Spence, it has to work. I don't like seeing Garcia like this and I know Morgan misses her."

"Wait how do you know that?"

"I, may, talk to him," JJ said, trying to avert eye contact. "From time to time." Reid smiled slightly.

"Me, too," he answered. "At least once, if not twice a week."

The pair smiled at each other, then moved to go home for the evening.

* * *

Penelope put off calling Derek right away. Giving her the drive home to her apartment to think.

 _Okay_ she thought. _What should I even say when I get a hold of him?_ Penelope thought and shook her head as she turned into her drive way. _Hi ya, Morgan! Sorry I haven't kept in touch with you, even though you are my bestie. My partner in crime. My chocolate Adonis whom I adore._ Penelope rolled her eyes as she got out of her car and walked inside her apartment.

 _Oh, and sorry I have been an uber crappy godmother to my godson, whom I have only seen 3 times since the day he was born because you left!_ Penelope thought as she was broke out her thoughts when she slammed the door of her apartment behind her.

"Get a grip, girl," she told herself quietly. "I shouldn't call Derek when I must be repressing this much resentment," Penelope said as she went into her room to change, setting her phone down on the bedside table. When she was finished, she sat down on her bed and stared at the offending piece of technology.

"Okay," she said as she took a deep breathe. "Just call him. It's Derek. He loves you and you love him. We can fix our friendship to where it used to be, before he left." With determination, Penelope grabbed her phone and dialed the familiar number and waited for an answer.

* * *

Derek was walking around the nursery, bouncing little Hank in his arms.

"How's my buddy doing today?" he cooed to the baby. Hank just looked up at him and swatted his hands and made those adorable sounds babies make when they are content. "You've been a good boy, yes you have!" Derek had just gotten home from his new desk job, meeting Savannah on her way out for her night shift at the hospital. He admitted only to himself how now he wasn't too fond of her being gone most nights, mainly because Hank could be a handful at times. But Derek wouldn't trade being a daddy for the world. So he made his way up the stairs to scoop up Hank just as he was waking up from a nap, fussing a little. But after a diaper change, the baby was good to go. So Derek with Hank in tow, walked back downstairs to get Hank ready for a snack. Just as he had the baby in the high chair, Derek's phone went off with a familiar, but almost forgotten ringtone. After checking to make sure Hank was secure in his chair, Derek ventured to the key table by the front door of the house to retrieve his phone and answer it.

"Baby Girl!" Derek exclaimed happily as he adjusted the phone to one ear, picking up the mail off of the key table as he walked back towards the kitchen.

" _Hey yourself, Baby Boy!"_ he heard Penelope say with equal enthusiasm to his own.

"Penelope, it's so good to hear your voice," Derek smiled as he made it back into the kitchen, stopping for a second to check over Hank, then grab his bag of cheerios to give to him off of the counter. Derek hadn't realized how much he missed Penelope until her heard her voice again. As he waited for her reply, he was still sifting through the mail that had come in.

" _I know, Derek. It's good to hear you, too. How is my godson?"_

"Growing like a weed. Here, say hello!" Derek said as he put the phone on speaker. "Go ahead, Baby."

" _Haaank."_ Penelope cooed. _"It's Auntie Penelope."_ Both laughed when Hank squealed at hearing her voice. _"I miss you, Baby Boy. Yes I do!"_

"I hope you miss this Baby Boy, too?" Derek asked. He sounded hopeful, but also afraid at her response.

" _Of course, I miss you, Silly Boy. Without you, there's absolutely_ no _eye candy here to satisfy me."_

"Oh that is too bad Garcia," Derek started and smirked. "You know I always satisfy." He said as he came across a piece of mail addressed to Savannah in a manila envelope.

" _Hot Stuff, don't say things like that in front of my godson!"_ he heard Penelope say, jokingly. But he became wrapped up in envelope in his hands. _"Handsome? You still there?"_

"Hmm?" Derek said, distracted. "Uh, yeah, Baby Girl. I'm still here. I'm just looking at the mail that came in today."

" _Anything of particular interest?"_

"I'm not sure. There's one here addressed to Savannah from Bethesda Hospital," Derek said, but was still puzzled.

" _Maybe it's a bill statement? If you give me a minute, I can, um,_ look _into their system and—"_

"Thanks, Baby. But I don't think this requires your creative googling skills. Not yet anyway," he half chuckled. "I mean it's addressed to Savannah. The only thing I can think of is it's the results to the blood work she had done about 2 weeks ago, I think?" Derek said, although a mass of dread was starting to creep over him.

" _I'm sure it's nothing serious. Why don't you open it to give yourself some piece of mind?"_ Penelope said, hopeful.

"Yeah," Derek started. "You're probably right." He then started to open the envelope. "I'm sure it's just telling us her levels are back to n-n-nuh—" Derek sputtered then stopped talking and dropped the phone, which fell with a loud clatter.

" _Derek? Is everything okay?"_ Penelope asked, then she heard the baby start to cry. _"Derek?! You're scaring me! Hello?! DEREK?!"_

But Derek was gone. He couldn't hear Penelope yelling with concern for him. He couldn't hear Hank crying. He couldn't hear or pay attention to anything that was going on around him, except for the papers he was holding that he pulled out of the envelope.

The papers that stated that there was no way he could be the father of little Hank Morgan…

* * *

 **Oh no! What will happen next? Tune in to find out. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

Hurt

Chapter 2

 **Hi friends! I'm so glad that you are liking this story so far. And I don't take pleasure in torturing Derek (hell, he went through enough of that this season!) but things will get worse before they get better… I hope you enjoy the ride. :)**

* * *

The sound of the front door opening and closing shut semi broke Derek out of his anguished state. He looked in the direction of the entrance to the kitchen as he heard his tormentor enter without a care in the world.

"Hi, Babe," Savannah said as she started rummaging over items on the counter until she found what she was looking for. "Ah ha!" she exclaimed. "I had to come back for because I left the flash drive with the new Title XI training for work on it and—" Savannah stopped as she noticed Derek just staring at her. "Derek? You look like you've seen a ghost or something—Derek! Do you not hear this child crying?!" She raised her voice and moved to get a sobbing Hank out of his highchair.

Derek could only watch as Savannah moved to pick up Hank. A part of him wanted to comfort Hank, but after reading the results of the paperwork in his hands, he just couldn't bring himself to move or speak.

"Derek Morgan!" Savannah said louder as she bounced the baby on her hip, trying to calm him down. "Are you so wrapped up in reading the mail that you can't be bothered to take care of your son?!" That last part of _that_ statement was enough for Derek to find his voice again.

"My son," he said quietly, shaking his head. " _My son_!" he said louder through clenched teeth. "You really thought that you could keep something like this from me?!" he shouted as he held up the papers with one fist and shook it, emphasizing his point.

Savannah looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Derek, I don't understand—"

"You understand a lot more than you let on!"

" _DEREK!"_ was a muffled electronic sound from the kitchen floor. Derek shook his head as he continued looking at Savannah as he picked up the phone off the floor and placed it to his ear.

"Listen, I gotta go," he spoke low into the phone. "I'll call you back later, Baby Girl." Derek said through clenched teeth, his eyes burning angrily in Savannah's direction. "Oh, and don't track me."

" _Track you? Derek, Baby, I don't understand—_ "

"Just promise me you won't!" Derek shouted.

" _Okay! I promise!_ " Penelope yelled back.

"Good," Derek said and then turned and threw his phone against the walls. The force shattering the phone to pieces.

* * *

"MORGAN?!" Penelope yelled into the phone as she heard another loud crash before the line went dead. She quickly re-dialed her best friend's number, but it went straight to voicemail. "Hot Stuff," she sighed as she could feel her throat constricting with tears. "I don't know what's going on, but please, call me back. I'll help you through whatever it is." She said as she wiped at her eyes as the first couple of tears spilled over. "I love you, Derek Morgan. Remember that."

Deciding to break her promise, only because she was super worried, Penelope pulled out her laptop and began to search for Derek's latest cell phone activity.

"Well, you're still at home. So that's a good thing. I think?" she said as she refresh her points and saw the same location pop up. "Something still doesn't feel right." She mumbled as she pulled her phone again to call in reinforcements. After a couple of rings, her call was answered.

" _Hotchner_."

"Sir, I need your help," Penelope said, her voice thick with worry.

" _What's wrong, Garcia_?"

"It's not me, Hotch," she started as she tried to keep it together. "It's Derek."

* * *

"DEREK!" Savannah shrieked, shielding Hank, even though nothing of harm came in their direction. "What the _hell_ is going on with you?!"

Derek stood there in shock and disbelief. She was really standing there, carrying on with the cruelest of charades. "Are you serious right now? How can you stand and not admit that—you know what? Take the baby up to his room."

"No! You really think _your_ behavior is going to be excused?! And you were talking to your precious _Baby Girl_. That's a name I haven't heard in months. Since when did you start talking to her?!" During this speech, Derek's anger finally reached its peak.

"TAKE THE BABY UPSTAIRS, SAVANNAH!" he bellowed. Savannah took a step back, in shock and looked at Hank who had calmed down, but was still sniffling. She quickly strode past Derek and made her way up the stairs to the nursery.

It took her a while to calm down the baby, but when Savannah finally came downstairs, she discovered that Derek had moved to the living room. He was seated on the couch, still clutching the papers.

"Are you going to tell me what it going on?" Savannah asked as she sat down in a chair adjacent to him, crossing her arms in sitting in an irritated pose.

Derek just looked at her. He shook his head before he threw the papers on the table in front of them.

"Look at those and explain them to me," he saw low and dark. Savannah observed the papers from her seat but didn't move.

"You're not making any sense—"

" _Look_ at those and fucking explain them. To. _Me._ "

Savannah huffed and shook her head as she moved to get the papers off of the table to look at them. She started to finger through them when she stopped short, eyes becoming wide, and slowly made eye contact with Derek. His expression was haunted, like he had aged with agony in a short amount of time. When he spoke, his voice was raw with emotion.

"Explain to me," he started as his voice cracked. "How is he not _my_ son?"

Savannah hesitated for a moment, before taking a deep breathe to explain her side of the story. And there was only one thing that Derek Morgan could feel while he listened to the garbage she spewed.

Hurt…

* * *

 **I know. I am torturing him, and you by not letting you in on this turn of events. But don't worry, all will be revealed. Soon… thanks for reading! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Hurt

Chapter 3

 **Hi everyone! Thank you so much for your reviews. Hope you continue to enjoy the direction of this story (okay, maybe not right this second, but it'll get better, I promise). :)**

* * *

It was going on midnight, Penelope observed as she checked her phone for what was probably the thousandth time. She sat on her couch, laptop cast aside, wringing her hands together. She felt so useless. Once again, the only signal she got by pinging Derek's phone activity again was the house. And she knew he wasn't there; Hotch confirmed that after driving immediately over to the Morgan house after Penelope's call to him. She waiting for her boss to knock on her door any moment, and she desperately hoped Hotch had any news as to Derek's whereabouts. She got her wish when she heard the knock on the door to her apartment, suddenly rising from her spot of the couch to let Hotch in.

"Anything?" she asked, hopeful but still worried.

"No," Hotch said solemnly and shook his head. "Only Savannah and the baby were there."

"Savannah's still there? Why isn't she out looking for him?!" Penelope asked in disbelief. She shook her head as she and Hotch walked back to sit in her living room. "Wait, is Hank okay?"

"From what I can tell, yes. Savannah had him downstairs when I got there, and neither one of them looked harmed. Not physically, anyway," Hotch said as he watched Penelope's expression change.

"What do you mean _not physically_?"

"Savannah just seemed very sad…" Hotch sighed. "I walked in through their kitchen side door when I got there." He then motioned towards Penelope's laptop. "There's a reason you're only locating him at home. Derek broke his phone."

"Dammit, Morgan," Penelope muttered. This type of behavior wasn't uncommon for her Hot Stuff. "He threw against the wall, didn't he?"

"Yes," Hotch nodded in agreement. "Any profiler who knows Morgan and saw that could easily put two and two together."

"It just doesn't make sense, Sir," Penelope said sadly. "The first time I have spoken to him since he left the BAU, and something bad happens. Maybe I'm a jinx or something—"

"Garcia!" Hotch said louder to stop her rambling. "You are not a jinx, I can promise you that. But I need you to stop and think back to what happened when you were on the phone with Morgan."

"You mean Savannah didn't tell you anything?"

"No, only that he was furious when he left."

"Well, yeah!" Penelope scoffed. She reached up to take off her glasses, and then started rubbing one of her temples. She noticed Hotch's look and knew he was waiting for her to tell him. "He was fine, Boss Man, really. I mean, we didn't talk for long but what we did say, well—it was just really good to hear his voice," Penelope took a deep breath and then put her glasses back on. "I asked about little Hot Stuff and he let me talk to him for a moment. Then he—he was looking at the mail," Penelope said as the wheels began turning in her head.

"Mail? Did he say what it was?"

"He told me Savannah received some mail from Bethesda Hospital. He sounded kind of worried and I told him I could, um, well," Penelope paused as she placed her laptop in her lap. "You know.." she gestured to the computer.

"Yes, I know," Hotch had to hide a smirk. "Anything else?"

"I told him to open it, because he was starting to sound concerned. He mentioned that it was probably results telling them Savannah's levels were back to normal. That's when things, _changed_ ," Penelope though as she quickly started typing away.

"What are you thinking, Garcia?" Hotch asked, trying to follow.

"I'm thinking the current IT geeks at Bethesda need to be fired. This was almost too easy!" Penelope smirked as her search alerted a match. "Okay. Here it is. The file on Savannah Morgan," she said, slightly scared at what she might find. "Hotch, am I wrong for doing this?" she asked and paused before clicking further. She looked up and saw the torn expression on Hotch's face.

"At this point, I don't see where we have a choice. Savannah didn't offer any other information when I went to their house," Hotch started as he moved to place a hand on Penelope's shoulder and gently squeeze it. "We both know how Derek can react when he's been hurt," he said and then motioned towards her laptop. "Open the file, Garcia. That's an order."

Penelope nodded and turned her attention back to the computer screen. With a few more key strokes, she has the file opened. Her eyes quickly scanning the results of a— _No_ she thought, shaking her head. _No, can't be?!_

"What is it, Garcia?" Hotch asked as he noticed Penelope's eyes filling with tears. "What does it say?"

"I-I-It's results from a DNA test. It says—it s-s-says," Penelope tried to say clearly, but she was already feeling so much pain for her Hot Stuff. "Hotch," she said tearfully. "It's says that Hank isn't Derek's son…" Penelope said as she looked up at Hotch, with tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, no…"

"We have to find him, Hotch!" Penelope said as she quickly began to search on her laptop, not really sure where to start.

"I know, Garcia. But let's think about this for a sec—" Hotch was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone, noticing it was a number he didn't recognize. "Aaron Hotchner?" he said as he answered the call. He didn't hear anything for a moment except something that sounded like a deep breath. "Hello?"

" _Hotch_.." came a tired and sad voice on the other end of the line.

"Morgan?" Hotch questioned and looked to Penelope as she whipped her head in his direction. He motioned for her to start to try and pinpoint a location on her laptop. Penelope nodded and began typing furiously. "It's, uh—it's been too long."

" _Yeah, it has_." Morgan said as Hotch heard him sigh again. " _Hotch. Man_..."

"I know, Derek," Hotch said as he and Penelope shared a look. He motioned for her to hurry her search. "Where are you?"

" _Does it matter, Aaron_?" Hotch heard him groan into the phone. " _The one thing in my life that brought me happiness, and he isn't even_ MINE!" Hotch heard something crash in the background. " _All this time I wasted! Giving up on everything and everyone who mattered to me for them! And none of it was mine_!" Derek cried.

"Derek, I know. But please, tell us where you are." Hotch said as he tried to reason with him.

" _It doesn't matter, anymore_." Derek said as he sighed heavily. " _Nothing matters anymore_."

"Morgan…? Morgan?!" Hotch asked, but he heard the sound as the line went dead. "Please tell me you were able to triangulate the call?" he asked Penelope.

"Yes, Sir! Looks like he made the call from a payphone at a convenient store in Waldorf, Maryland," she said as she looked up at Hotch. "If I remember right, he has a property he was flipping on the country outskirts. "She remembered and searched for her confirmation. "Yes! He must be going there."

"Go to him, Penelope,"

"But, Sir, do you really think he needs to see me right now? After all that has happened, do you really think _I'm_ the person he needs to see?" Penelope asked, doubting herself.

"Of course. He needs to be surrounded by those who care about him, now more than ever," Hotch said as he got up and gave Penelope her car keys. "Especially you."

Penelope looked at her keys and back up at Hotch, who motioned for her to get up. She did as he instructed. But not without giving him the biggest hug. Hotch was taken by surprise, but did something out of character, and returned the hug.

"Get going, Garcia," Hotch said as he pulled back to look at Penelope. "That's an order."

With a small smile, Penelope nodded and quickly made her way out of her apartment building and into her car, Esther.

"Hang on, Baby Boy," she said she started the car and set out on her drive to get to Derek. "Your Baby Girl is on the way."

* * *

 **Baby Girl is on the way to save the day! (This needs to be like a theme song or something for Penelope, right?) Tune in to the next Chapter to find out what happens next! Oh, and thanks for reading and reviewing, it means a lot. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Hurt

Chapter 4

 **Here's an quick and short update for you. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

It took Penelope about 40 minutes to drive to Derek's property in the country. By now it was well after one in the morning. Penelope stifled a yawn as she parked in front of the house; it was quaint little two-story house, with what looked like the makings of a wrap-around porch extending on the right side. Penelope slowly exited Esther and looked around, noticing that Derek's truck was crookedly parked to the left side of the house. She could tell he had arrived in a hurry as she could see the tire marks in the grass, thanks to the moonlight. That was something else she noticed being out in the country, is that the moon and stars actually provided a decent amount of light, and could be seen so much more clearly than they could in the city. It was then that she also noticed, as she slowly and cautiously walked up the steps of the house, that she could hear the sounds of nature like crickets and other nocturnal things settling in over the property. _I don't blame him for coming here_ she thought. _This is the perfect place to run away from your—troubles_.

When she reached the last step Penelope brought her hand up and hesitantly knocked on the door, only to find herself pushing on a door that was not fully closed. Slowly she peered inside but was only greeted by very loud banging and crashing noises, coming from what she assumed was the back of the house. She stepped in and noticed that everything was dimly lit, indicating her Chocolate Handy Man had installed some sort of electricity throughout the house. She looked around and saw various tools, scalp holding, and buckets of paint strewn about. Walking cautiously down a hallway, she entered a room which she assumed would be the dining room, looking up to see wiring for a chandelier that would make the finishing touch on a fine room Derek would build with his own hands.

Her attention soon went back to the banging and crashing of what sounded like metal against wood. Penelope walked a through the rest of dining room and made her way into a room that she wasn't quite sure would be yet. She saw a moving shadow from a distance and moved to step forward, her foot clanging against an empty beer bottle. _Oh no_ Penelope thought. _I hope he didn't have any of these until_ after _he drove here!_ Walking closer, she saw the back of Derek's form. He was shirtless, wearing only his boots and blue jeans and he was hitting a piece of wall with a sledge hammer. Giving it absolute _hell_.

Penelope's heart broke at seeing her dearest friend beating out his frustrations with everything he had. One particularly strong blow made him cry out in anguish and Penelope yelp in surprise. Breathing heavily, Derek slowly turned around looked at Penelope, their eyes meeting and saying so much more than words ever could. Shaking his head, Derek began faltering, dropping the sledge hammer with a loud clatter. Just as he was beginning to fall to his knees, Penelope quickly swooped in and caught him and slowly guided him down to the floor.

"Baby Girl…," he said in a guttural voice as he clung to Penelope for dear life. "How could she? _How_ could she-?" Derek asked as he began to break down.

"Shh—I've got you, Derek," Penelope said as she held him. There was some much that she wanted to say in that moment, being the optimist that she is, but there's was only she could say in that moment. "I've got you."

So Penelope held him tight, rubbing his back and repeating a silent mantra to herself that had thought so many time about her best friend: _He's gonna be okay. He's gonna be okay...please let him be okay..._ She repeated this over and over, and continued to hold Derek until he was ready to talk…

* * *

 **I know you all are really wanting to find out what happened (and if we're being honest, so am I!) but good things come to those who wait/stick with me. I'm not a writer, I'm more of a reader. You can probably check me for grammatical errors and such. But thank you all from the bottom of my heart for reading and reviewing! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Hurt

Chapter 5

 **Okay, so now we're getting to the juicy stuff! ;)**

* * *

Penelope and Derek sat on the floor, their backs leaning up against the wall and both of them were leaning on each other. Penelope had her head resting on Derek's shoulder, and his head rested on top of hers. They were each nursing a beer bottle; normally Penelope didn't drink beer as she preferred some kind of fluffy cocktail or a glass of red wine. But hey, alcohol was alcohol.

"So," Penelope started quietly as she sighed and nuzzled into Derek's shoulder. "Are you—are you ready to-."

"Talk?"

"Yeah."

Derek sighed and drank a long pull from his beer. He set the bottle down, and Penelope mimicked his behavior and once she had her beer placed on the floor, he reached out for one of her hands. She placed it in his and he began to rub the pad of his thumb over the top. He marveled at the contrast of how soft Penelope skin was for a moment. Then Derek took a deep breath before he spoke.

"After I got off the phone with you," he said gruff, scratchy voice, and then cleared his throat. "I may have—disposed of it…"

"And by disposed you mean chunked it against the wall until it smashed to bits?" Penelope asked, somewhat sarcastically.

"Maybe…" Derek said and half-chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. Looking ahead, he felt Penelope rise slightly to bump his shoulder with hers before she settled back down. All the while, Derek kept her hand in his. His Solace was really coming through now. Penelope was the only person keeping him grounded.

"Go on, Baby," Penelope encouraged and squeezed his hand.

Derek let his mind wander briefly before he started telling Penelope about one of the worst days of his life…

* * *

 _He saw Savannah's body language change. She was uncomfortable._ Good! _he thought. Derek noticed her hesitate before she spoke, like she was trying to pick her words wisely. No matter what Savannah said, the damage had already been done._

" _First, let me say that I did not intend for you to find out like this," Savannah said as she held her hands out in a defensive stance._

" _Oh my God!" Derek yelled and shook his head in disbelief. "Did you ever have any intentions of telling me?!" he bellowed._

 _Savannah thought for a moment. "Honestly? No." She saw Derek about to argue but cut him off. "The only reason this came about is because I wanted to get Hank tested for allergies soon and I needed a sample to compare with and—."_

" _So what? That made for an automatic DNA test?! Jesus, Savannah," Derek started as he got up and started pacing, and then stop short, slowly turning around to glare at Savannah. "Wait—how did you even get a sample from me to test?"_

" _Derek, you off all people know how easy it to get DNA." Savannah rolled her eyes. She looked up to see him waiting for an explanation. "Do you remember a few weeks ago when you thought you were getting a sore throat?" she said and Derek nodded. "And I checked your throat for signs of—."_

" _Strep," Derek said in realization as all of the pieces began to fit together. "You swabbed my throat and took it to the hospital on your shift that day."_

" _Yes," Savannah said. "I did test for signs of strep throat, but I thought that since I had a sample that I should get confirmation."_

 _Derek just looked at her in disbelief. He started pacing again, walking up to the nearest wall and hitting it hard, not caring about the searing pain or the fact that he had drawn blood on his knuckles. He heard Savannah gasp in surprise and turned to see her preparing herself to get up off of the chair she was sitting in. "Don't," he warned as he shook his head and looked at Savannah. "Don't—just—tell me, when did you cheat on me?"_

" _Derek," Savannah pleaded. "Please just let me—."_

" _When?" he asked louder._

 _Savannah sighed before she spoke, with a far off look in her eyes. "You were on a case, as usual," she started and ran her hands slowly through her ponytail. "I was lonely that night because you weren't here—"_

" _So you thought since I was out of town, that gave you an excuse to cheat?!" Derek snarled._

" _No, it didn't happen like that! I didn't go out and find someone random and sleep with them," Savannah said as she slowly rubbed her hands together. "I called the hospital to see if they needed help. That's how desperate I was to not be alone that night because you_ should _have been off."_

" _Stop stalling," Derek growled._

 _Savannah eyed him before she continued. "I worked half of my shift before taking a break," she paused. "I went down to get coffee from the break room on the third floor because the machine on our floor was out of order."_

" _And?" Derek asked._

" _And it just happened, Derek. I know that's not what you want to hear, but that's really all. Nothing was premeditated or anything—."_

" _So what? You tripped and fell on his dick and thought_ Oh, since I'm here I might as well finish him off _!" Derek said sarcastically._

" _Derek! Don't be crude," Savannah said as she watched Derek shake his head and start to pace again. "I went down to get coffee and met another doctor who got called in to help in the ER later after I went in," she said and then started again, quietly. "I'd never met him before, he said he normally works at the hospital in—" Savannah started, but after seeing Derek's alarming expression, she pressed on. "Anyway, we were talking. He made me laugh, and then I dropped my coffee stir and we both bent to pick it up at the same time. I smelled his cologne, and he stroked my hair and—well, I'm sure you don't want to hear any more of the details."_

" _No. I don't," Derek said and walked to stand against the wall, arms crossed tight on his chest. "I remember coming home from a case where you practically attacked me as soon as I walked in the door," Derek stated as he looked ahead with a blank expression. "You felt guilty." It wasn't a question._

" _Yes."_

" _You thought that if you had me, then you could forget what you did."_

" _Yes," Savannah started. "I felt so guilty after that night that I had thought about ending things with you. I fought myself with that decision for a couple of months after that happened," she said as she stood up and slowly walked towards Derek. "I was going to the day that I sent you a text saying that we needed to talk—it was during that time that I realized I was late and missed my last couple of periods, and well, you know what happened after that…"_

 _That woke Derek up again as he moved from his stance against the wall and bounded towards Savannah. "And out of all that time, you thought you would hide that fact that Hank might not even be mine?!"_

" _I said I was sorry, Derek! What more do you want from me?"_

" _Sorry? Savannah you think 'sorry' makes up for that fact that I fought so fucking hard to get back to you when they had me in that house?!" Derek shouted as he balled his hands into fists. "That 'sorry' makes up for that fact that left my job and my family to build my life with you?!" he said as he brought a hand up to press to his chest, that scar from the torture would ache from time-to-time. All of this just made it throb even more. "You think an apology is going to make up for that fact that that little boy up there," he paused to point his other hand upstairs. "Is not even_ mine _."_

 _Savannah was quiet for a moment, Derek observed. She looked sad for a moment, then her expression sobered some. "Derek, maybe this should tell you something—that you needed to be around more at that time and this might not have happened—."_

" _Don't you DARE flip this around on ME!" Derek yelled. "_ You're _the one who cheated, and_ you're _the one who lied!" Derek ran his hands over his face in frustration. "Me being gone has nothing to do with this. You just don't love me that way you say you do."_

" _Bullshit, Derek!" Savannah yelled back. "I do love you. But it's hard to love someone when they aren't always around. Then you weren't, but now you are. We can't get back to a good place again, I know it."_

" _No! We can't. You know why? Because_ you _ruined everything!" Derek shouted and stopped when he heard the sounds of the baby crying. A part of him wanted to go check on him, but the other part, well, it just wouldn't allow him to. "You better go check on him. He probably needs his diaper changed," he said as he turned and started walking towards the front door, Savannah hot on his heels._

" _Where are you going, Derek? You can't leave," she said as Derek went to reach for his keys and put on his boots. "What? Are you going to rush to your precious_ Baby Girl _?" Savannah snarled._

 _Derek whipped around to face her. "Don't you bring Penelope or anyone else into this," he started and stopped as the sound of Hank's cries grew louder. "You need to take care of_ your _son." Derek turned and opened the door, pulling it shut behind him with a resounding slam._

* * *

Derek was brought back to the present when he felt a thumb wipe away a tear he hadn't even realized had fallen from his eye. He looked and saw that Penelope had rose from resting against his shoulder and was facing him. She looked heartbroken, but not in the since she felt sorry for him. Hers was a look of empathy. His pain was _her_ pain, too.

"It's okay, Derek," Penelope whispered as she cupped the side of his face with one of her hands. She felt him lean into her hand and rubbed her thumb against his cheek. "I don't know what to do, but we'll figure something out, I promise."

Derek reached up and took her hand from his face and clasped it in both of his, kissing the back of it. "Baby Girl, I don't know how I can just—let go, you know? I mean I thought that Hank was _mine_."

"Just because this has come out doesn't mean that you have to stop being a father to that sweet and innocent baby boy."

"It's not the same though, Penelope," Derek sighed.

"You still love that baby, don't you?" Penelope asked. Derek nodded. "See? That hasn't changed. And it doesn't have to. You and Savannah can choose to work on your issues or not, but little Hank is the bigger priority here," she said as she reached up to grasp Derek's chin. "You keep loving him and you don't stop being a father."

Derek nodded slowly and shut his eyes for a moment. "What if Savannah tries to keep me away from him now. What do I do then?"

"She better not even think of doing that to you!" Penelope scoffed. "If she doesn't like me now, she really won't like me if she pulls some kind of shit like that," she said jokingly. This caused Derek to smile a small smile. The Penelope continued, seriously. "There are laws about this kind of stuff. I'm Hotch can help us figure the logistics of everything."

Derek digested everything she was saying. It was so good to have his Solace right here in front of him, doing what she did best. But then Derek started to feel guilty. "Some best friend I've been," he started. "I haven't seen or talked to you in what, six months? And the day that I do all of this happens," Derek said he grabbed both of her hands and squeezed them. "Penelope, I'm so sorry, I—."

"Shh," Penelope said as she reached up and put a finger to Derek's lips. "We don't need to talk about any of that right now," she said with a small smile.

Derek nodded and moved to wrap Penelope in his embrace, which she leaned into willingly wrapping her arms around him waist. He leaned his head on top of hers as it rested on his chest. Derek felt some much peace in that moment holding his Baby Girl, and even though he didn't know what tomorrow would bring, he knew Penelope would be by his side. As if to prove his thoughts, Derek felt Penelope move one of her hands to rest on his chest, right about his scar. It was in that moment he knew. Somehow. Someway.

Everything was going to be alright…

* * *

 **Sorry it took me a while to get this update up. Work has kept me busy, and probably will for the next couples of weeks. So enjoy this update. And as soon as I can, I will update soon. Thank you all for reading and reviewing! Much love xoxo**


	6. Chapter 6

Hurt

Chapter 6

 **Hey guys. Thanks for not giving up on me. These last couple of months have been busy to say the least. But I love this story and it will be completed (with a sequel afterward?) I have to warn you that some content in this chapter may be a little graphic, just a little… but I hope you enjoy this update :)**

* * *

 _Derek was walking to his truck, which was odd because he last remembered being inside of the house he was remodeling. He looked around and noticed he was wearing his black leather jacket, jeans, and his work boots. It was night time and very quiet in the parking lot, but Derek could see the figure of the person he was walking to meet. They were standing on the driver's side of his truck slightly leaning on the side of it with their back to him. This person was shorter than Derek, dressed in a white coat with the hood pulled up over their head. Even though he knew he should be more cautious, meeting a stranger at his truck, Derek felt no fear. For some reason, Derek felt that he knew this person. He walked past the figure and turned to face them, relief instantly flooding him once he recognized the stranger, who was definitely not a stranger at all._

" _Handsome, hi!" the angelic voice said with a bright smile on their face._

" _Hi, Baby Girl," Derek said with a matching smile as he moved to take the hood off of Penelope's head, to which she giggled and shook her golden curls until they fell down around her shoulders and half-way down her back. Derek noticed that her hair was certainly longer than it was when he saw her last. He looked at her face and noticed that her skin seemed to have a certain shimmer to it, her cheeks full with a healthy blush, and her brown eyes shown so bright when she met his, even through her white framed glasses. Derek allowed his gaze to follow down Penelope's body, noticing the coat was really more of a cloak that extended all the way down to the ground. He knew underneath that cloak was Penelope's deliciously curvy figure, but the material was so billowy it almost made Penelope look like she was floating. Her whole presence was radiant. Penelope was positively glowing._

" _Have I made you speechless, Baby Boy?" Penelope smirked as she waved her hand to get Derek's attention._

" _Oh, uh…yeah," Derek sputtered as he ran a hand over his head and then shook his head as he looked at Penelope again. "Angel! I mean—you look like an Angel," he smiled as he reached down for one of Penelope's hands and kissed it._

" _Aww. Be still, my beating heart," Penelope chuckled huskily and squeezed his hand. "You really know how to make a girl feel special, even when I'm like_ this _."_

" _Like what, Baby?" Derek smiled at first and then noticed that slight look of confusion on Penelope's face. "Did I forget something?" he started playfully then stopped when Penelope took her hand out of his. He noticed then that she was starting to unbutton the cloak. "Penelope? Baby, I'm sorry if I-."_

" _No! Derek, you don't have anything to be sorry for," Penelope said quickly as she reached back for Derek's hand and moved to pull back a side of the cloak she opened with her other hand. "Someone just wanted to say hello," she smiled brightly._

" _Say hello? Baby Girl, what are you—," Derek started and then stopped as he looked down to where Penelope had the cloak pulled open. She let go of his hand again and held the other side of the cloak open. There Derek saw the most breath taking sight. Penelope was wearing a white, flowing, silk gown. He noticed her perfect breasts that he knew were certainly bigger than they normally were, barely being contained in the top. And then he laid his eyes on the sight that thrilled him the most. Derek saw her stomach. It was swollen and perfectly round as it jutted out in front of her. Penelope's belly was so big it looked like she was due any time now. Derek was in such awe of the beautiful sight in front of him, especially when Penelope moved her hands to hold her belly._

" _Oh, Derek," Penelope cooed as she then let go of her stomach and reached for both of Derek's hands. She placed his hands on her tummy and rested hers on top of his. Derek went to open his mouth to say something when he felt the slightest of pushes come from either side of her stomach._

" _See? I told you they wanted to say hello," Penelope said as she looked up at Derek, who looked down at her stomach and then back up to her face. He could feel the tears pricking in his eyes._

" _Did you—did you say_ they _?" he asked as he rubbed her belly slightly, a grin forming on his face._

" _Mmm-hmm," Penelope said through happy tears. "Twins."_

" _Oh, Penelope," Derek said in wonder and moved to hold Penelope in his arms, being mindful of the precious cargo between them. He looked into her eyes and moved his face closer to hers, their lips just inches from each other's. "I love you," he whispered lovingly._

" _Derek," Penelope started. "I love you, t—,"then she gasped and Derek heard the loudest gunshot he ever thought possible. Still holding her, he pulled back slightly to see if he could see where the shot came from. But all he noticed was that everything around them was pitch black. He noticed even his truck was gone. He was brought back by feeling the weight of Penelope in his arms. It felt like she was faltering slightly._

" _Derek.." Penelope rasped as she tried to grip his arms._

" _Baby Girl?!" Derek exclaimed as he noticed she was losing consciousness. As gently as possible, he moved them to the ground, him sitting and cradling Penelope upright in his arms, trying to help her to breathe. In the process, he noticed a thick warm substance on the hand that was holding her left shoulder. The crimson blood on his hands made his whole body run cold._

" _Stay with me!" Derek shouted. "You have to Penelope! You have to stay with me!" he cried as her rocked her. He moved his hand down to her stomach, only to notice that it was flat and she was no longer pregnant. "What—no!" he bellowed. "Penelope! Please," Derek pleaded as he rocked her. He felt Penelope reach up to cup his face with what little strength she had. "I love you, Baby Girl," he said in agony as he kissed the palm of her hand._

" _Hot Stttuff," Penelope rasped. "I lllove yyy—," she tried to say before she took one final breath and went still in his arms._

" _Nooooo!" Derek shouted as he shook his head profusely. "PENELOPE!"_

* * *

"Derek! DEREK!" he could hear someone shouting his name, and feel soft hands frantically shaking his form.

"Penelope!" he sat up with a gasp, shaking and drenched in sweat. He shook his head for a moment, trying to remember where he was. He opened his eyes slowly to see Penelope looking at him with such worry. He noticed she was in her uniquely colored night ensemble. Her hair slightly mused from sleep and she wasn't wearing her glasses. She slowly reached out and grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Shh," Penelope said as she felt Derek's trembling hand in hers. She tried to soothe him by rubbing her thumb back and forth on the top. "Nightmare?" she asked quietly, and eyeing him with cautious eyes.

"Uh, yeah," Derek said his voice hoarse from sleep and exhaustion. "I'm sorry, Baby Girl," he said gruffly. "I didn't mean to wake you." Derek then realized that he was in Penelope's apartment, and he had been sleeping on her couch. It had been almost a year since he had last stayed the night on that couch. He felt Penelope squeeze his hand again, seeing her sit at the end of the couch near his feet, trying to get his attention. It was then he remembered the dream and he felt his pulse rate go up again.

"Oh my God! Penelope!" he exclaimed as he moved to pull Penelope in his arms. Penelope let out a yelp of surprise when he did this, and Derek pulled back to look at her. "Are you alright?" he asked, searching her eyes.

"Baby Boy, I'm fine," she said and reached a hand up to stroke the side of his face with the back of her hand. She noticed he still did not look convinced. "Derek, I'm fine. I promise," Penelope said as she reached back to wrap her arms around him. "Are you okay?" he felt he asked as she leaned her head against his chest.

"I—I think so. It was just—," he started and then sighed heavily. "It was just a dream," he said and then leaned his head to rest on top of Penelope's. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as he began to remember the very vivid details of his dream. He didn't know why, but the thought of Penelope pregnant with his children and hearing her declare his love for him was a vision that he so desperately wanted to come true. But then he remembered the agony he felt at the sudden loss of the babies and of her. And he remembered the awful sound of the gunshot. It almost reminded him of the night Savannah was shot—.

It was then that all of his impending troubles began to flood his mind. Savannah's betrayal; Hank not being his son; thoughts of divorce proceedings and custody trials, if even he even had rights for custody. All of his thoughts caused Derek to tense.

"Handsome?" Penelope said and moved to look at Derek's face again. She could see the worry etched on his beautiful face. "We'll get through this. I promise," she vowed looking deep into his eyes.

"I know we will," Derek said and he believed anything and everything that Penelope ever told him. He sighed heavily again, this time one of relief and moved to give Penelope a final squeeze, relishing in the fact that she was truly here with him. "Well," he started as he pulled back, "I'm fine now, Baby Girl. You need to get to sleep."

"You need sleep, too, Boo," Penelope said playfully, which caused Derek to smile slightly. "Move over," she declared.

"What?"

"I said move. Over," Penelope said as she began to scoot him over herself.

"Penelope, you'll be much more comfortable in your own bed-."

" _I'll_ be much more comfortable playing dream catcher for my best friend," Penelope playfully scolded. "Now, move over and let's go to sleep."

"Yes ma'am."

"That's better."

Derek smirked. He moved so that both he and Penelope fit as best as they could on her couch, covering them both up with the soft blanket that she had laid out for him earlier. He kept her on the inside, spooning her and looping his arms around her waist. He could feel her snuggle into him as they became settled. Derek felt her softly dragging her nails up and down his arm that was wrapped around her, then sensation so comforting he could feel himself succumbing to sleep.

"Comfy, Hot Stuff?" she asked sleepily. He could tell she would be out any minute.

"Yeah, Baby. I'm good," he said as he tightened his arms around her again.

"Good," He heard her sigh in contentment. "Sleep tight, my hero," Penelope said and yawned. Derek chuckled softly.

"Thank you, Penelope. For—," but he stopped when he heard Penelope's deep breathing, and he knew she was fast asleep. "Thank you, Baby Girl," Derek whispered. He kissed her shoulder and closed his eyes and was soon fast asleep himself.

And so, the hero and his dream catcher slumbered, forgetting their troubles in the world.

For now…

* * *

 **This idea had been playing for a while in my head. Hopefully it came across okay. Don't worry, we'll get to find out what else is in store for this OTP later. Thanks for reading! xoxo**


	7. Chapter 7

Hurt

Chapter 7

 **Hopefully you all enjoyed the last chapter. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed and is enjoying this story! I hope you enjoy this update :)**

* * *

Penelope sighed contently as she snuggled deeper into the couch. She knew she was in the beginning stages of waking up; she could tell that daylight was entering her apartment, even through her closed eye lids. But she didn't want to wake up just yet, for some reason. Penelope couldn't recall why she felt better sleeping last night than she had in months. With eyes still shut, she pondered the thought another moment when felt a hand slowly creep its way across her waist…

Penelope's eyes popped open as realization dawned on her; she was entangled in a spooning position with her best friend! On her couch! Penelope turned her head back slightly to look at Derek's face, only to notice he was still fast asleep. She had to fight the urge to pinch herself because she still couldn't really believe that he was here. Penelope noticed that he looked relaxed for the first time since she had seen him last night at his remodeling house. The first time she had truly seen his face since the almost 6 months he had been gone. Derek was still handsome, no denying that, but her Hot Stuff's scruff of his goatee was a little bit scruffier than usual. Penelope also noticed the somewhat bags of tiredness around his eyes, which she assumed that was a toll of him adjusting to daddy life.

That thought made Penelope's heart ache for Derek. _How could Savannah do that to him?_ she thought. _That's not love._ Penelope inwardly sighed. No, that wasn't love. Love was being faithful. Love was not a liar. Love was supposed be pure and unconditional. All of these inward thoughts ran through Penelope's mind when she felt Derek breathe deeply and he pulled her closer to him, even though they were already as close as humanly possible on her couch. During this movement, Penelope could swear she heard breathlessly say her name. It was so faint, she wondered if he was awake but his breathing evened out again and she knew Derek was still fast asleep. Penelope moved to tighten her own arms around his around her, using one hand to drag her nails softly up and down his arm like the same ministrations she had done to settle him after his nightmare.

She remembered how frightened he seemed when he woke up and realized that she was there. Like he was afraid she was going to disappear. Penelope understood; she couldn't help but let her mind wander to thoughts of him disappearing again. _Not again_ , Penelope thought. _I can't loose him again_ she thought as she felt tears pricking at her eyes. She closed her eyes and willed them away. Thoughts of the memories of her pain from when he left started to push their way up to the surface and she pushed them back down. _He's here now_ she thought, her pattern for a mantra and a prayer spoke softly in her mind. _He's here now._

Speaking of someone being here now, she was brought back from her thoughts when she felt his arms shift again and in the process pushed up an expanse of her night shirt, exposing her stomach. Penelope went to pull the fabric back down when she felt Derek's hand snake its way to her exposed flesh, his hand felt hot against her bare skin. Penelope's breathed hitched when this happened and she froze for a second. _Oh my God!_ She slowly tried to maneuver to move his hand without waking him, but it was no use. His strength dominated in so many areas of his life, even in his sleep. Her breath hitched again when she felt him rub his hand back and forth slowly. The sensation was not an _unpleasant_ one. _There's just a little bit more of me than what he is probably use to_. She felt his hand move a little bit lower, his long pinky catching under the elastic of her pajama bottoms and her panties. Penelope felt her cheeks flush from slight embarrassment and also of the heat his hand was leaving on her skin. She could feel the faint beginning of a delicious tight coiling in her stomach, when she felt something poke her from behind. _Is that…?_ Penelope thought and wasn't sure until she felt the push again, stronger this time. _Oh my, it is!_ she screamed inwardly. Her best friend had morning wood and it was knocking against her! Penelope was caught up in a million thoughts that she didn't register she had to sneeze until it was too late.

"Achoo!"

"Ahh!"

Her sneeze had scared Derek and caused him to awake suddenly, rolling off of the couch and onto the floor pulling Penelope with him. They both hit the floor with a resounding _thunk_. Penelope had landed on top of Derek, who was trying to register what had happened.

"Oww," Derek groaned, as his back throbbed from hitting the floor so abruptly.

"Sorry!" Penelope scrambled as leaned up slightly until she was hovering her top half over him, her bottom half was still collapsed on his bottom half. "I didn't mean to scare you. Are you alright?"

"First, bless you. Second, good morning, Baby Girl," Derek said as he smiled up at her still somewhat sleepily. Hearing that made Penelope want to cry, but only happy tears. When he left, she never thought she would hear him say that again.

"I'll show you a good morning, Hot Stuff," Penelope smiled. She felt him chuckle underneath her. "Oh God, here let me get off of you," she rambled as she moved to get completely off of him. It was then she noticed that Derek'slittle _issue_ from earlier, which was anything but little,had waned itself down. She was grateful for that. No need for feelings she had long since stomped down to resurface. Not now, when he needed her the most. She reached her hand down to offer it to pull him up, even though she knew that her strength was nothing compared to his. He took it and of course used his own weight to pull himself up. They both moved to sit back on the couch, facing each other.

"Thank you, Baby Girl. For last night," he said as he ran a hand over his face. "I didn't mean to wake you and pull you away from your bed."

"Don't sweat it, Handsome," she said. "And you didn't pull me away, I was just fulfilling my best friend duties."

"Still, it must have been cramped for you here."

"Hey, did you sleep better?" Penelope saw him nod his yes. "Then my work here is done," she said with a matter of fact shrug of her shoulders. She heard him chuckle.

"How can I repay you, oh Goddess, of mine?" Derek said as he extended his hand to take hers.

"Hmm," she said as she put one hand in Derek's extended one and tapped a finger against her mouth with her free hand. "I shall think of a payment for you, mere mortal. In due time," said as she grinned at him.

Derek went to reply when they heard Penelope's cell phone go off on her kitchen counter. She got up and retrieved her phone and walked back to stand in front of the couch.

"What's up, Baby Girl?"

"It's a text from Hotch," she said as she continued reading. Without her glasses, she had to squint a little bit until her eyes adjusted and allowed her to see. "Oh no," she gasped.

"What is it, Baby? What's wrong?" Derek asked as he stood up suddenly and moved closer to her.

"We need to get ready to meet Hotch," she said quickly as she looked up at him with sad eyes.

"Okay, we'll get dressed and meet him. But Penelope what did he say?" Derek said as he pulled Penelope to face him, keeping his hands on her shoulders.

"He said—he said heard from one of his other attorney contacts," she said as she felt Derek squeeze her shoulders gently, urging her to continue. "He found out Savannah is filing for divorce," Penelope said and her eyes met with Derek's, tears brimming and threatening to fall down her cheeks. "He said you can expect to be served the next time you go back to your home," she said the tears finally fell down her cheeks.

"Oh, Derek," she started with a shaking breathe. "Savannah's filing for full custody of Hank."

Derek looked as her with a heartbreaking and stunned expression. He knew a divorce was in their future, he just figured he would be the one to file first. But for Savannah to file for full custody of his son—yes, even though he may not be his biologically, Hank would always be Derek's son; Penelope had helped him see that. Savannah was crazy to think she could just take him away. He released Penelope's shoulders and moved to sit back down on the couch.

"She really thinks she can just take him from me? After her betrayal? She owes me more than that," he said as he put his head in his hands.

"But that's not all Derek," Penelope said and Derek snapped his head back up to look at her. "Hotch says there's a name on the custody petition," she said and she slowly sank down on her knees in front of Derek. "He says it's the name of the father."

Derek felt the weight of a familiar pain all over again. Except this time he knew Savannah had lied again. Her one time dealing with this mystery man was not so after all.

Derek jumped up from the couch and began to pace, coming closer and closer after each pass with the corner wall near the entrance of Penelope's bedroom. Penelope watched helplessly as his steps became more pronounced and angry, until he let out a sound of anguish and punched the wall with all his might.

"Damn it!" he yelled and held his right hand.

"Derek!" Penelope shouted and jumped up off of the couch and ran over to him. "Let me see."

"I'm fine-."

"No arguing. Let. Me. See," Penelope said each word slowly and reached out to look at his hand. "Oh, Baby," she sighed. "You've really busted them this time," she with a shake of her head. She could tell this was worse than when he hit the wall the night before. He didn't have to tell her, she knew as soon as she saw his hand when she came to the house he was flipping. "Come on and let me rinse your hand off," Penelope said softly.

She guided him to her kitchen sink, turning on a slow run of warm water. Penelope carefully rinsed off Derek's knuckles and grabbed a clean dish towel to pat it dry. Upon further, inspection she noticed his knuckles we not as bad as she thought, they just wanted to bleed a bit. She pulled Derek along to the other side of the counter and found her first aid kit she kept near the kitchen. She opened it and found some antiseptic wash and a roll of gauze. She removed the cap off of the wash and positioned her hand to spray it.

"This might sting a little," she warned and sprayed a couple of sprays.

"Shit!," Derek said through ground teeth.

"I warned you," Penelope said as she went to unroll the gauze. "Let this be a reminder to you the next time you decide to go all caveman in _my_ apartment!" she snapped back as she finished securing the gauze with some tape. "There. All done."

"Thank you, Baby Girl," Derek said quietly and sighed before pulling her into his arms. There they stood hugging each other tightly. "Thank you for putting up with me, too, when I get like this." Penelope pulled back to look at him.

"One thing I'll suggest first is that you go back to the gym and use the actual punching bag for your punching urges," she said as she eyed him. Derek let out a chuckle.

"Deal, Baby,"

"And the second thing I'll suggest is that you take better care of this gorgeous body. _All_ of it," Penelope said as she picked Derek's injured hand up to examine it again.

"I will, Sweetheart. I promise," Derek said as he pulled her back into a hug.

"Good," Penelope said as she nuzzled her head in his chest. "Now," she started and pulled herself out of his arms. "Let's get ready to meet Sir Hotch. He'll know what to do."

"Okay," Derek said and then started to walk back towards the front door where his bag was. He turned around and saw Penelope walking toward her bedroom. "Hey, Baby Girl," he said and saw her stop and turn around. "I love you. You know that, right?"

Penelope smiled as she remembered the first time that Derek had ever said those words to her. In her apartment, and his situation was just as dire as hers was then.

"I love you, too," she smiled back and then motioned towards his bag. "Now get dressed," she said and turned back toward her room.

Derek shook his head and silently thanked whatever entity that had allowed him to be blessed with the presence of Penelope Garcia in his life. He knew that with her by his side, he could face anything.

Which was good, because little did he know his troubles were just beginning…

* * *

 **So.. the real baby daddy is filing for custody with Savannah… I wonder who he is… No really, I do because I haven't thought about writing him yet! Lol. But I guess we will all see in the next chapter. Thanks for reading!**


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